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Richmond schools to close for UCI Championships

Posted at 8:41 AM, Sep 09, 2015
and last updated 2015-09-09 08:41:35-04

RICHMOND, Va. — Citing traffic and road closure concerns, the Richmond School Board voted to close city schools Friday, September 25 for the UCI Championships bicycle races. In addition to the closure, students will be dismissed two-hour early on Thursday, September 24. The school system announced it would soon provide parents with more information about the schedule changes.

While parents commenting online seemed to support the decision to close schools, some expressed frustration with the timing of the announcement.

“I apologize for the inconvenience and last minute notice,” school board member Tichi Pinkney Eppes responded on Facebook. “I understand the sentiments. I am concerned about parents needing childcare.”

Eppes said she would help parents come up with childcare options.

Henrico Schools closed September 23

Last month, Henrico school leaders voted to turn a September 23 half-day into a full day off for students during the race.

“Large crowds of spectators will be filling local roads that week, making it a challenge to keep school bus routes on schedule in some parts of the county,” Henrico Schools spokesman Andy Jenks said. “The bike race’s route for September 23 includes central Henrico County. September 23 is the only HCPS calendar day to be changed by the event.”

There will be multiple road closures for the UCI Road World Championship Races, which run from Sept. 19-27, 2015 and will bring approximately 1,000 cyclists to town, and an estimated 450,000 spectators over the nine-day event.

All races finish on Broad Street at the convention center.  In most cases, streets will close one hour  before each race begins; they will open immediately following the completion of each race.

The nine-day schedule is organized by which course will be used. You can see the entire schedule here.

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